You Will Never Be Alone
by C.B. Magique
Summary: [Post-war] Their roles have been reversed now. While Naruto can now bask in the glory of having earned the villagers' respect, Sasuke is dismissed as a demonic criminal. And despite all he has done, they still feel that way about Itachi too. But regardless of the similarities, Naruto is determined for it to be different this time.


**This idea entered my head and it just wouldn't leave me alone until I'd finished writing it. It's a friendship fic for Naruto and Sasuke but it could be NaruSasu if you really want it to be. **

**WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS FEELS. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, it's copyright of Masashi Kishimoto, but NarutoxSasuke friendship is beautiful :3**

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**You Will Never Be Alone**

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It was a chilly but cloudless autumn day and the atmosphere was losing the heady sweetness of post-war peace. Life for the ninjas and civilians of the Hidden Leaf was becoming mundane but many thought that that was a good thing. It hadn't been many months since the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War and the horror of it, as well as the events leading up to it, were still very fresh in people's minds. The situation afterwards had been politically tenuous, of course. It had taken months of meetings, conferences and treaty drafting for the Kages and Daimyos to decide what to do with the Allied Shinobi Forces. After all of that tricky business, all Tsunade wanted to do was shove a stack of paperwork to the side, pop open a bottle (or several) of sake and pass out at her desk for the rest of the evening. She did not want Uchiha Sasuke dropping into her office unannounced.

"Good evening," he said, walking into the office without so much as a knock. He was dressed in jeans and a hoodie with a scarf for the cold weather; it was too casual for this to be anything important, Tsunade decided. "Sorry for the intrusion, Hokage-sama."

That made Tsunade sit up a little. Sasuke being polite? Ha! That was so unheard of that only she would bet on it. Yet it also put her on edge. He was clearly sucking up to her for some reason. Sasuke's position within the village had been difficult to define. He wasn't exactly welcomed back with open arms by either the council or the general population. During the first month following the war, slanderous and vilifying articles about him in the newspapers and magazines had prompted Tsunade to forbid the media from publishing anything about him. That didn't mean that they didn't find ways around it. At all of her council meetings since the end of the war the elders always made a point of bringing up the 'Uchiha question'. The discussion normally revolved around finding ways to manage Sasuke's future actions by granting him limited citizenship or restricting him to certain parts of the village. Another common suggestion was to surgically remove or alter his eyes so that he couldn't use his doujutsu, which she might have considered if it wasn't so cruel and absurd. However there was no way that Sasuke was here to talk to her about the councillors since he knew nothing of their suggestions and that led her to wonder what he actually was here for.

"Good evening, Sasuke-kun," she replied, trying to sound friendly. She knew he had probably been feeling very tense in the past few months. "What brings you here?"

She noticed that he wasn't wearing a forehead protector and vaguely recalled seeing a shinobi rank reinstatement form appear on her desk at some point in the past few months only to be put aside and forgotten about until now. Was that his? She was too drunk at the time to recall who had signed it so hopefully he wasn't here about that.

His actual answer threw her completely. "I want to talk about the Fourth Great Shinobi War Memorial Shrine and Monument which is going to be erected sometime soon."

"Oh, that…" Tsunade muttered. Why? She remembered approving the funding for that project a while ago and it was currently up to the administration to compile a complete list of the fallen. "Is there any particular reason?"

"I want to request a name to be added," he answered, looking straight at her. He had a good poker face for Tsunade had no idea how antsy this proposition was making him. He wanted to twitch, fidget—hell! He was just about ready to start jumping up and down in anxiety. There was an extremely high chance that his request would just be refused but he had to try. "Before the shrine is built I would like you to use your powers as the Hokage to have Uchiha Itachi's name added to the list of the Leaf's fallen."

Tsunade's eyes widened fractionally for a second but she understood his request. She sighed sadly and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. That's something I can't do."

"No? Why not?" Sasuke demanded, raising his voice. He'd known that he would fail but maybe if he tried to push the issue…

"I'm sorry but I can't do it. Not for a public infrastructure project like this," Tsunade explained. "The village still believes that your brother was a dastardly criminal; a mass murderer and a betrayer. If I had his name carved in stone next to the names of the soldiers who'd fallen, people would be offended. There would be a huge public outcry."

"But none of that was his fault!" Sasuke shouted, striding up to the desk and slamming his hands down on it. "They were _orders_! From Danzo and the council! If you could just explain that—!"

"Sasuke!" Tsunade snapped. "It's not that easy. Do you have any idea what the ramifications of revealing secrets like that would be? We'd have to reveal the existence of Root as well. Even I find the case of the Root organisation grizzly, most people would be horrified. On top of that, people would start to doubt the legitimacy of the council and perhaps other high-ranking political positions, like mine. We've already been in a war, we don't need any more unrest. Besides, it would be difficult to argue at case for that, since Itachi technically wasn't fighting among our ranks."

"But he was fighting on our side! He was always on the Leaf's side no matter what! He gave up everything for us in exchange for exile! If he couldn't have any honour in life then the least we can do is grant it for him in death."

Tsunade just shook her head. "I understand how you feel about this, Sasuke, but even if I could convince the administration to go through with it, there is still the issue of the whole village's feelings. It's been months and we're still wading through all of the secrets and trying to uncover the lies surrounding Root. If we ever reveal it to the public it's going to be a delicate process and won't be carried out in nearly enough time to have your brother's name carved onto that monument. I'm sorry."

Sasuke took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, bowing his head as he did. Tsunade watched him warily but he just stayed like that for a minute. Then suddenly he lifted his head and stood up straight, fixing the Hokage with that poker face again.

"I understand," he said tersely. "Thank-you for your time." He bowed stiffly and turned around to stomp out of the Hokage's office. Tsunade watched him leave with a sad frown on her face. At times like this she wished politics wasn't so difficult.

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Sasuke left the Hokage Tower feeling heavy-hearted and emotionally sore. It was already getting late so he figured he should just head home. Well, it wasn't really his home. When he left he'd been dispossessed of everything he owned. There was only a small box full of personal items that had been kept in storage in the Hokage's residence and that was it. Nobody was willing to house him either. The Hokage, to her credit, tried to organise temporary housing for him but no inn, hotel or landlord wanted anything to do with him. Sakura would have taken him in if it weren't for her parents' disapproval and Kakashi had a stupid excuse as to why he couldn't have Sasuke stay with him. That left only one person in the whole village who would house him. In fact, Naruto had begged Sasuke to stay with him from the beginning for a reason that Sasuke couldn't fathom since Naruto was the one person who was least able to take in another person. For starters, Naruto's apartment only had three rooms: the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. Sasuke had to sleep on a futon on the floor every night right next to the moron's bed and having two people in his little kitchen felt like a tight squeeze. Naruto's bathroom was also tiny. He didn't even have a bathtub, just a shower. Despite the cramped living conditions, Naruto always seemed happy to have Sasuke in his house. The blonde really was an idiot.

As he walked he tried to ignore the staring and glaring that came his way. He checked his wallet to busy his mind so that he didn't have to think about them. He'd made a fair bit of money today. With the village shunning him in every way the only job he'd been able to get was at the village junkyard using his ninjutsu to burn trash. It wasn't difficult but it was taxing and he was paid cash-in-hand at a piece rate. It was a massive blow to his pride and his ego but there wasn't any choice for someone in his situation.

He was passing through a street filled with shops and stalls. Most of them were already starting to close up for the day. One stall, however, caught his eye with a deal on beef strips. The butcher's shop didn't seem to be closing and Sasuke checked his wallet again. He allowed himself a small smile. He could afford this. And he'd been shopping for dinner every day since he moved in because Naruto would only eat instant ramen otherwise. He stepped up to the counter optimistically. The plump woman standing behind the counter was reading a novel, which looked suspiciously like one of those erotic romance novels, with an excited expression on her face.

"Excuse me," Sasuke said. Her attention snapped from the book to him. She narrowed her eyes and frowned in disgust. "Can I order—"

"Get lost!" she barked.

Sasuke blinked. He was lost for words for a second but quickly regained his voice to respond: "Sorry? What?"

"I said go away," the woman snapped. "We don't serve your sort at this shop."

She turned back to her book, signalling the end of the exchange. Sasuke glowered at her, feeling anger boiling hot in his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to force it down, turning and walking away with a disappointed sigh. No matter how he felt, there was nothing he could do without confirming the villagers' opinions of him or bringing retribution upon himself. It looked like he would just have to settle for the supermarket.

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The staring, whispering and gossiping followed him everywhere, even into the aisles of the supermarket. People were giving him a wide berth. He turned a corner into an aisle, remembering that he needed to buy more soy sauce, and almost ran into a woman on her way out. She literally shrieked in terror and back-stepped until she was several feet away from him. He stared at her in disbelief before shaking his head and ignoring her to search for his sauce. He found it and when he looked up again the entire aisle was empty. A head poked around the corner indiscreetly to check if he was still there before disappearing. Sasuke sighed miserably. It actually hurt. His heart was being pierced and the knife was twisted cruelly back and forth. He already knew what it was like to be alone, to have everything ripped away from him and leave him with an empty home and an empty heart. But to be rejected on top of that… he never realised that that could hurt so much. Was that how Naruto had felt for years? People had ostracised him from the day of his birth, when he was a child and an orphan no less. Sasuke had received pity and sympathy for the loss of his family, which he tried to shrug off in a bid for power. For losing his family and being burdened with holding in one of the most powerful beasts to ever roam the land, Naruto only received derision. All of a sudden he felt stupid and selfish. He always had more than Naruto but his ego refused to accept it.

As he was heading to cashier he passed by one of the aisle displays. It was for some brand of instant ramen and the cardboard advertising shouted out bold words like "exclusive" and "premium" and featured a little gold star next to the picture of the actual product. Sasuke could gather that gold stars on products meant something special and probably so for ramen too but he didn't care. Naruto probably did, though, and this would be the absolute least Sasuke could do for him. Unfortunately, the display was empty. Every last bowl was already taken. Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Sasuke just continued on his way to the check-out. On his way he passed a shabby-looking man with a pot belly waiting in line at a busy check-out and holding a basket filled with nothing but instant ramen, tinned soup and beer. Among his many Styrofoam cups Sasuke spotted one large bowl with the label "premium" and a gold star, all of it identical to the ad. Sasuke swiftly nicked it from the basket. The man didn't notice him take it.

The cashier beeped all of his items through the check-out and all Sasuke could think about was how much he just wanted to leave. He'd burned through a lot of chakra at work, Tsunade had let him down and the villagers were treating him like some sort of demon. He received his change and receipt and was about to pick up his bag when he noticed something off about the amount displayed on the screen and the amount in his hand.

"Hey, this isn't enough change," he said, holding out his hand expectantly. The surly-looking teenager had probably just made a mistake.

Instead, the girl just glared at him and blew a lock of hair out of her face. "Yeah? So what?"

Sasuke gawked at her. A few people in the line behind him giggled. "So you need to give me more money. I'm short-changed here."

"Pfft. With how much you owe the village, that's nothing."

Sasuke's eye twitched. The anger rose from his chest again and this time he couldn't stop it going all the way up to his head and particularly his eyes. He felt the familiar, slightly stinging twinge of his kekkai genkai activating. "I know very well what you and the rest of the village think of me but don't think for a second that I'm going to let you use that as an excuse to rip me off. Just hand over the change!" Sasuke scowled.

The check-outs went silent. Dead silent. There was no chattering, no beeping and no plastic bag rustling. Sasuke kept his eyes on the girl, who was backed up to her register with a terrified look on her face. Most people near him most likely had the same expression. He stared her down fiercely until she eventually gulped and reached into the cash register to pull out more change. Satisfied that he had the right amount, Sasuke crumpled up the notes, coins and receipt and shoved them in his pocket. He grabbed his bag and high-tailed it out of there before he did something that he knew he'd regret. He'd never felt that he needed to get home so badly in his life.

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The light was already on when Sasuke made it back to the apartment. He let himself in with a spare key that Naruto had given him to keep. A familiar pair of sandals was already placed at the door, confirming what Sasuke had already guessed. He shut the door behind him and took off his shoes too.

"_Tadaima_," he called into the house. Even after a few months of being able to say it again, the word still felt strange coming out of his mouth.

"_Okaeri_!" Naruto replied, poking his smiling, blonde head into the hall from the kitchen. "Ne, Sasuke, you're later than usual ~ttebayo."

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged and pushed past Naruto gently to get into the kitchen. He put his groceries on the table and started taking out the vegetables. "I did a bit more at work than usual today. And then I went to see the Hokage."

"Eh? Tsunade-baa-chan? Did you ask her about the rank reinstatement form thing? You did that months ago. I bet she forgot about it," Naruto said, wrinkling his nose and sticking his tongue out as he observed Sasuke starting to chop salad for a side dish.

"I didn't ask about that. But you're right, it has been a long time." Sasuke paused in his preparations and put the knife down. "I went to ask her to have Itachi's name carved on the new memorial."

"Hey, that's a great idea! Itachi did so much to help out during the war. He was the one who found a way to stop the Edo Tensei, right?"

"Yeah, he was…"

"Well then he totally deserves to be honoured on the memorial ~dattebayo! Even if he was technically already dead," Naruto added with sheepish laugh. "What'd she say?"

Sasuke sighed and grasped the knife handle tighter. He kept his eyes downcast as he replied: "She said no."

"What?! Why ~ttebayo?!" Naruto screamed.

Sasuke winced at his friend's volume but chuckled dryly. "It seems that political mind games are still more important than my big brother."

Naruto went quiet at that. Sasuke filled the silence by resuming his chopping. He dipped his head low. Admitting that had felt all kinds of terrible and all of a sudden he felt like crying. His fringe and bangs covered his face as his eyes began to well with tears. He tried to hold them back and not let them fall.

"I'll change that."

Sasuke stopped abruptly and turned to Naruto. "What?"

"I'll change that when I become the Hokage," Naruto said, pumping his fist. He gave Sasuke one of his grins, the one that said nothing was impossible because he was determined to do it. "I'll get Itachi's name carved on that stone one way or another. Hell, I'll have an entire shrine built, dedicated to Itachi! I'm gonna make sure everyone in the village acknowledges how awesome your brother was ~dattebayo!"

"_Dobe_…" Sasuke murmured. But still, he couldn't help but smile. He turned back to his cooking before he did anything else to embarrass himself, like cry. "By the way, I bought something for you at the supermarket. It's still in the bag."

"Really? A present for me?" Naruto grinned, rushing over the bag and looking through the top. He spied the Styrofoam bowl immediately and his eyes sparkled. "What?! You really got this for me?" He picked it up out of the bag and cradled it in his hands, examining the label with awe. "This is Ramyun brand premium deluxe pork and shrimp flavour instant ramen! These ones always sell out fast. And you really got it for me? Man, Sasuke, you're the best."

Sasuke shook his head. He was about to reply but it got caught in his throat when he remembered the ordeal he went through just to get through the check-out. As well as all the things before that. "Naruto… how were you able to deal with it?"

"Huh?" Naurto stopped dancing around his kitchen in worship of his special ramen to look at Sasuke curiously. "Deal with what?"

"With people… looking at you like you're a monster and… and treating you like a disease."

Sasuke's shoulders tensed and he hunched over his chopping board. His body began to shudder with the fruitless effort of trying to stop the tears from finally falling. He felt Naruto's warm hand on his back but couldn't turn to look at him. He didn't want others to see him cry.

"It's hard," Naruto answered in a quiet, sympathetic voice. "I know it's really hard living like that and it's hard to find something to keep you going. But this time is different, Sasuke. You're not alone. I won't let you ever be alone again."

Sasuke set down the knife and turned his whole body to Naruto, catching the blonde in a tight embrace. He buried his face in Naruto's shirt and wept openly while Naruto reciprocated the hug gently. He let the last remaining Uchiha soak his shoulder while he rubbed circles on his back. It came out in tidal waves; the hurt of losing everything in one fell swoop, the pain of living everyday with hatred burning him alive from the inside, the loneliness of having to go home and cry alone because there was no one else there. And he knew Naruto had always felt the same way. But not just the same pain. They felt the same way about each other.

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**End.**

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**How was it? Please review...? :3**


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